A POPULAR pub on the outskirts of Newport has announced that it has closed indefinitely.

The Friendly Fox, one of four pubs in the Bassaleg area of the city, confirmed the news on its Facebook page earlier this week.

Its landlady of five years, Nicola Birch said: “It is with a heavy heart I have to write this.

“The Friendly Fox will be closed until further notice. It has been an amazing five years for me!

“I feel privileged to have been at the Fox for so long and would like to thank all of my loyal customers for everything!

“I would like to thank my staff, old and new, for helping me through my journey, but unfortunately it is time for me to move on. Hopefully our paths will cross again.

“I will miss you all, Nicci.”

Word of the pub’s closure was met with an outpouring of sadness of social media, with plenty of people complimenting the pub’s food, service, and its friendly staff.

A change of ownership now appears the most likely scenario to enable the pub to reopen.

The Argus previously spoke to landlady Nicola Birch in August 2020, after the pub was hit with a covid case and was forced to close.

The Friendly Fox was deep cleaned before it was allowed to reopen.

Later that year, in October, the pub was handed an improvement notice for failing to follow covid rules.

Newport City Council said at the time that the notice was due to groups of customers not seated two metres apart and were therefore not social distancing.